As I've noted before, there are a lot of patient feedback sites and systems around now. Still plenty of traditional "suggestion box" type approaches, surveys, interviews, and a fair few online systems too.

So many, in fact, that a few months back Mark Gamsu posted a thoughtful blog on the confusing world of NHS patient feedback.

This set me thinking about why Patient Opinion is different. And more specifically, if I were a patient choosing between different online feedback sites (perhaps I've found NHS Choices, my local healthwatch website, and Patient Opinion), which would I choose and why? What is the essence of the difference?

Of course, there are many many small differences. But I think the essence of it comes down to this: we aim to share your story with as many people as possible who can learn from it, and use it to make a difference.

Here's a picture of how Patient Opinion works, to show you what I mean. (Apologies: this is England-centric. The organisations are different in other UK health systems, but the principle is the same.)

Of course, we can only notify those organisations which have registered. And staff can choose which kinds of story they want to be alerted to.

I think this illustrates our approach quite well:

you shouldn't have to tell your story more than once

you shouldn't have to understand how the NHS is organised (does anyone?)

your story should be shared across the local health economy

your story should be available to people improving healthcare, whether locally, regionally or nationally

your story should help future healthcare professionals too

I'm not aware of any other feedback system or website which shares your story in this way. I don't even think there's another system where you can share a story about more than one single provider (so you'd have to tell your story separately to each provider involved).